As a catcher, he often was asked to be defensive, to use his athletic ability to block the plate, as if impersonating a pile of bricks requires skill.

As a manager, Mike Scioscia was asked to assess his athletic prowess back in the day to that of Jeff Mathis today.

“Seriously?” he said. “It would be like Nureyev and Frankenstein.”

A Russian who was limber versus a monster who would lumber.

That comparison explains Mathis’ value well, particularly during a season in which he is hitting a that-can’t-be-accurate .200.

For perspective, Jason Giambi was hitting .193 before the A’s finally put him on the disabled list and Brian Giles was at .191 when the Padres mercifully disabled him. Before his two hits Sunday, Mathis was at .193.

Yet, thanks to his nimble defense, he remains a semi-regular, splitting time with Mike Napoli, much to the tortuous dismay of some Angels fans, many of whom have computer access and are, at this moment, composing e-mails wishing a Bible-worthy plague on Scioscia.

Asked if anyone close to him — friends, family, the wife — ever questions his continued use of a .200 hitter, Scioscia said, “Yes.” Then he added, “I don’t care.” Then he added again, “I don’t care.”

The Angels aren’t concerned with his four at-bats nearly as much as they are interested in what Mathis does with the rest of the nine innings.

Catcher is a defensive position first, second and third with Scioscia, who was a defense-first catcher when he played.

In his world, a manager worrying about a catcher’s offense would be like a hockey coach worrying about a goalie’s wrist shot. Scioscia’s catchers can know nothing about hitting, but they cannot know squat about squatting.

“Would you make playing-time decisions on a pitcher based on his batting average?” Scioscia asked. “Would you say, ‘This guy’s hitting .320. We have to pitch him more.’? I sure hope not.”

Now, he was just being silly, as if we sports writers are complete fools.

There was, however, this exchange at a recent game:

One writer, noting Mathis’ skeletal average, announced to a colleague, “The guy just can’t hit.” A few innings later, Mathis hit a home run, helping the Angels beat Minnesota.

As not to ruin my creditability, I won’t divulge whether I was the original sports writer or the colleague, but you might recall I also once questioned the future of these laptop computer thingies.

So now you know. I’ve been wondering for almost two years now why Scioscia insists on cutting into Napoli’s playing time with Mathis. Napoli can hit a home run regularly; Mathis can, at best, hit a home run monthly.

I mean, among the hitters with higher batting averages this season than Mathis are Andy Pettitte, Chad Billingsley and Josh Beckett, pitchers, each of them.

But know what? Scioscia doesn’t care.

“If you look at Jeff’s defensive numbers, he’s as good as anyone in baseball,” the manager said. “Look at the bottom line — runs allowed when he catches and the win-loss record. Everything this guy brings behind the plate is about winning games.”

The numbers? OK, here goes:

When Mathis catches, the Angels’ ERA is more than a run better than when Napoli does. John Lackey’s ERA is 1.96 with Mathis, 5.34 with Napoli. Jered Weaver’s respective numbers are 3.42 and 5.40.

“He’s an elite defensive catcher in this league, no question,” Lackey said. “Jeff’s as good an athlete as there is back there.”

During his time with the Angels, Lackey also has pitched to the Molina brothers. Not to be negative or anything, but Bengie and Jose are about as nimble as I am Chinese.

Asked if Mathis is the most athletic catcher he has worked with, Lackey smiled and said, “Looking at the guys I’ve thrown to here, the answer’s pretty clear, isn’t it?”

This, too, is clear: the Angels this season have won regardless of who’s catching, the numbers showing the difference in offense is more than offset by the difference in defense.

In games started by Mathis, the Angels are 30-18 (a .625 winning percentage). With Napoli, they’re 33-22 (.600). For the past two seasons, Mathis has a 119-69 record as starter.

“Jeff means more to us back there,” Scioscia said, “than the best-hitting catcher could with five at-bats in a game.”

In other words, deal with it, Angels fans. Those of you who argue for more Napoli — or, to be truly accurate, less Mathis — aren’t going to be satisfied anytime soon.

“I’ve had umpires — and I’m talking guys with 20-plus years experience — rave about Jeff,” pitching coach Mike Butcher said. “They’ve told me they get a better look over this guy than anyone ever. They can see everything.”

One of those umpires recently was Mike Reilly, a crew chief with more than three decades in the major leagues.

There are some very good places to be in baseball, hitting in front of Albert Pujols, for example. On the good side of the umpires isn’t a bad spot, either.

And that’s where Mathis takes the Angels on the days that he catches, to a very good place, a place where, 62.5 percent of the time, the result is victory.

Jeff Miller has been a sports columnist since 1998, having previously written for the Palm Beach Post, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Miami Herald. He began at the Register in 1995 as beat writer for the Angels.

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